ME2 Dossier - The Elemental
by AwesomeZombieSlayerGRL
Summary: Shepard picks up a new dossier that has an interesting past
1. Chapter 1

Ch 1  
"Shepard, I've just been notified that the dossier I mentioned earlier - the Elemental? – has been found near Arcane in the Strenous System. I recommend that you pack some heavy weapons. Someone has been following the Elemental. Someone very powerful," explained the Illusive Man.  
"Roger that. Thanks for the heads up," Shepard replied.  
"You'll need to move in fast. There's no guarantee the dossier will be staying there long." With that, the Illusive Man disconnected the hologram. Shepard turned around-  
And nearly ran head first into Garrus. The turian jumped back and muttered a quick apology. Shepard smiled. "Easy there, Garrus. What's up?" she asked.  
"About this new dossier…" he began.  
"What about it?"  
"I've pulled the file and traced all financial activities to Omega. When my team and I were there. I've checked and rechecked everything. It just… doesn't seem possible…" The turian trailed off.  
"Yeah," Garrus replied, "It doesn't add up."  
"Look, I'll notify you when we near Arcane. If you would like to, you can join the shore party when we get there."  
"Thank you, Commander." They exited the briefing room. Garrus made for the elevator and as Shepard turned back towards the galaxy map. Garrus watched the commander before heading into the elevator. He took it down to the crew's quarters and headed over to the forward batteries.  
As soon as the doors shut behind him, Garrus sat down and opened up a small pocket inside his armor. He pulled out a necklace that carried an inch long crystal that was a dark grey-blue. He rolled it back forth in his hands, staring at it hard.  
"If you really are alive..." he whispered and the crystal began to pulsate softly.


	2. Chapter 2

Ch 2  
About a year and a half ago  
Most everyone had gone to sleep already. Aluna sat up from a restless sleep and drew knees up to her chest. The young woman looked to be about twenty two but was in fact older; older than oldest living krogan or asari. When asked about her age by one of her teammates, she gave a rough estimate of being about fifty three thousand years old. That caught someof the guys off guard, causing them to spit out any beer they were drinking.  
"Heh, Garrus looks like you're gonna be dating a cougar," said a human named Kyn.  
Garrus looked at him, not quite understanding the metaphor. Aluna looked at the human and raised an eyebrow. She could pass for a human if not for the royal blue bands trailing down her arms, legs, and face. Those would most likely be written off as eccentric tattooing if not for her eyes; those took on an inhuman quality, making her look older than her appearance.  
Aluna shifted in her bed and listened to Omega at night. Hover cars raced back and forth well above their holdout. "For once I would like to stay at a place where you could actually see the stars without all this crappy pollution," she muttered to herself as she got out of bed. A few litharians began to assimilate themselves into the Citadel a good hundred and fifty years back. Most came out after Sovereign's attack on the Citadel. There were litharians around the time the Reapers harvested the Protheans. The Council was not pleased to hear the litharians' account on the reapers and demanded to know why they waited until now to reveal themselves. Litharian government and politics were a tad difficult to explain at that point. Besides, the Council blatantly dismissed the "reaper theory" which angered many litharians despite the council saying that it would cause a mass panic among the races and how no clear evidence was brought forward.  
Aluna walked out to the balcony that overlooked most of Omega. She could spot the popular bar called Afterlife in the distance where she first met up with this group of vigilantes a couple months back.  
It was sort of hard to carry on a conversation in Afterlife what with the beautiful women and music bearing upon you, especially on one who was having a first time visit to Omega. Aluna arrived on the asteroid a year or so back for a "change of scenery". Frankly, she didn't want to live on the Citadel, where she would be harassed by politicians and diplomats alike for god knows what. When she first arrived, she wore a long sleeved shirt and pants to cover up her markings. The only visible ones were on her face and hands which were passed off as tattoos. Some of the mercs she passed by while getting papers in order asked if she was part of a new merc group. She denied any affiliation and walked away but when one of the mercs grabbed her arm, he received a nasty surprise. The woman's whole arm began to glow a soft orange and brightened until flame broke out and burned the batarian trying to stop. He held his burned hand, his face contorted with anger, pain, and a bit of shock. The other two mercs brought up their guns but the litharian toyed with the flame she conjured in her hand until they backed down. As she turned away, she heard them bring their guns up again and stomped her foot once on the ground which sent a small earthquake their way which sent all three sprawling on the ground; there was enough metal in the infrastructure for her to do so.  
She rented a small apartment and kept herself busy by learning her way around Omega: where was safe enough to eat, what food was best to avoid, which places one needed to avoid. It was a few weeks later that she headed over to Afterlife. Once she was in, she could already hear the music thumping through the walls. She walked through the main doors and had her senses flooded with different smells and sounds. Strobe lights lit up the entertainment strewn around the room as well as the dancers out on the dance floor. The tempo for the next song picked up and Aluna walked out onto the dance floor. It had been a long while since she had danced but glanced around at few dancers and incorporated their movements into hers. Music and beat ran itself through her body as she danced the next hour and a half away. She noticed a few people were staring at her; she had decided to where a simple dark royal blue dress that revealed the markings on her arms and legs which no doubt looked exotic and amazing on Omega. She glanced up once to take a look around the club. Her eyes landed on a group of individuals talking amongst themselves like many others with drinks in hand. What caught her eye was one turian who looked like a C-Sec agent out on leave; a uniform symbol that he must have forgotten to remove gave him away. He was looking around the club as well, almost as if he wanted to head out to the dance floor but was nervous to do so, so Aluna thought.  
He looked her way and their eyes met for a split second. Red blush crept itself up along Aluna's face; at that moment, she was grateful for the ever changing strobe lights. She smiled slightly and stepped out from the dance crowd. Where she was at the moment was the most congested part of the dance crowd and she had to make a loop around the floor in order to find the turian's table. She was about half way there when an asari stepped out in her path. Aluna's face fell slightly as the other woman blocked her way.  
Aluna tried to step around her but the asari was persistent. "Easy there, human. I have never seen you here before," she said  
The litharian paused for a moment to correct the asari but thought better of it; better that not many know of her. "Visiting a few friends," Aluna said stiffly.  
The asari smiled slightly. "You don't think they'd mind if I steal you for a few minutes?" she asked.  
"Sorry, no. It's a bit of a reunion thing."  
"On Omega?" The asari laughed at the idea.  
"Wasn't my call," Aluna replied, thinking of a way to get around her.  
"Normally when I come to Afterlife, there aren't many interesting people. Tonight, there's you."  
"Thank you for the... compliment but I really must get to my friends," Aluna said and quickly sidestepped the asari. She looked back once and the asari was gone. The litharian shook her head and walked over to her destination. She was about half way there when a nervous knot tied itself up in her stomach. She peered around the group of people who stood in her way and spotted the turian sitting there, people-watching. A couple of his buddies were going to get up, whether for a refill or a dance Aluna couldn't tell.  
"Oh, screw it," she muttered under her voice, "It's just one guy." She walked through the crowd and before she knew it, she stood in front of him. She knew she cut an excellent figure when the rest of the turian's group looked up at her.  
"Uh... hi," she said a little nervously.  
"Hi yourself," replied a human, "Name's Kyn." The human stepped forward, hand held out in a greeting. Aluna gave him a look, not knowing if he was being nice or sarcastic.  
"What?" Kyn said staring at Aluna's smiling face.  
"Maybe you're not her type, K," replied a batarian, "She's had eyes for Archangel since she spotted."  
The litharian was caught red handed and her face showed it. The turian dubbed Archangel laughed it off, but if turians could blush he wasn't showing it.  
"I... um..." she stammered.  
"Oh, go on. Take him," the other turian said, saving Aluna from stammering herself to death, "He's been eying that dance floor for awhile."  
Archangel spun around to face his comrade. "I have not," he objected but Kyn gave him a nudge in the shoulder.  
"Just dance for a while, Arch. It's not every day you get a pretty girl in front of you," Kyn stated nonchalantly. The rest of the group stared at either the litharian or Kyn. One of his friends leaned over and whispered something in his ear. Kyn looked taken aback and turned his gaze to Aluna.  
"Wait... you're not a stripper?" he asked, completely innocent. Kyn's friend slapped him upside the head.  
"You dumbass! Why'd you say that out loud?" he asked.  
To their surprise, Aluna started laughing. "Hah, sorry. It's just his face... when..." and she burst out laughing again. The others chuckled. "No, I'm not stripper," Aluna said, getting her laughter under control. "I'm Aluna. Call me Lou if you want," she said, introducing herself.  
"You know that sounds like Britain's term for 'toilet', right?" Kyn said. Aluna laughed again, "Yes, I am aware of that."  
With introductions done, Archangel and Aluna walked over to the dance floor. They were bumped and jostled every which way they turned; more people had joined since Aluna was last on. "Uh, do you want to get a drink?" Archangel asked after dodging another arm to the head for the umpteenth time. Aluna nodded and they headed over to the nearest bar. They ordered two drinks and walked over to a nearby room. There were only a few other people in there with them. The music could still be heard from behind the closed, people dancing to its fast beat.  
The two found a clear table and sat down. "So... you don't look like your typical human," Archangel began.  
Aluna took a swig of her drink and replied, "I'm not." She gave him a cryptic smile around her drink.  
Archangel laughed and finished his drink right as three Blue Suns mercs walked in. Aluna stiffened for a moment when the batarian looked over at their table. He did a double take at Aluna and said, "There's that bitch that burned my hand!"  
"Well, party's over," Aluna said and grabbed Archangel's hand.  
"Wait, where are we going? And why are we running from them?" the turian asked as the litharian pulled him through the back of Afterlife. People who were walking along there jumped out of their way or would risk being knocked down.  
"Remember when I said I'm not your typical human? I burned that guy's hand when he was getting too friendly. I'm being literal when I say that," she called over her shoulder. She stomped her foot on the ground causing small bumps to pop up to slow their pursuers down.  
"Hey, just let your buddies know that I'm just stealing you for a couple hours and not kidnapping you," the litharian said. The turian looked at her but sent off a quick message to his "worried" friends.  
A couple Blue Suns had tripped over the bumps in their path but soon the litharian and turian hit a dead end. "You're not human?" the turian asked, referring to her previous statement.  
"Nope," Aluna replied with a quick smile as they faced the Blue Suns who were chasing them.  
The batarian stepped forward, a smug grin on his face. "Nowhere left for you to run," he said.  
Aluna pondered his words and turned her head slightly to her turian, "Hold onto my waist and don't let go," she whispered and heard the batarian order the other two mercs to raise their guns.  
"Nowhere to go but down," Aluna announced to the batarian and the ground suddenly swallowed the two up leaving no trace for the Blue Suns to follow. The batarian's face dropped to the floor.  
The two appeared a floor below Afterlife and were immediately spotted by another group of mercs who promptly chased after them.  
"Here, follow me," the turian said pulled the litharian along another pathway. They passed by a bar where a couple half empty glasses sat on the counter. Aluna grabbed the drinks in her free hand and tossed the contents onto the ground where she froze the liquid as best she could. The Blue Suns slipped on the half frozen drinks and their targets were lost as they sped around a corner.  
The turian pulled her into an alleyway where they pressed up close to the wall as the mercs ran past. They waited a few more seconds to be sure before bursting into laughter.  
"That... was the most fun... I have had in years," Aluna said laughing.  
The turian doubled over from exhaustion and laughter. "I'll say," he replied. They waited a moment until they recuperated enough to talk from their flight.  
Archangel recovered quickly and looked over at Aluna with a quizzical expression on his face.  
"I hope I'm not offending you by asking this, but how old are you?" he asked.  
Aluna restrained her laughter as best she could before replying, "Asking a woman about her age, are you?"  
Archangel stammered for a second but Aluna held up her hand. "It's alright," she said before looking down at the ground. The turian stared at her uncertainly while she kept quiet.  
She sighed after a few minutes before continuing.  
"I am 53,245 years old." She didn't look up to watch Archangel's reaction, though she did see his posture change just slightly. She took this moment to look up at him.  
"You're not serious?" he asked.  
"I don't like to lie and I would not lie about my age. Not unless I had to." Aluna got up from the wall and stood still in the alleyway.  
"You have no idea what it is like to live for so long," she murmured softly, "To watch race after race be snuffed out of existence and you have no power to stop it because politics got in the way of helping one another. Survival at all costs." She laughed grimly and ran a hand over her face.  
"You've encountered... the reapers?" Archangel asked tentatively.  
The litharian faced him and in her eyes he saw the anger, pain, and suffering that her long age cost her. "Yes, I have," she replied, "We would have been able to stop them, too, had our government not turn tail and ran. We left the protheans there to die. To be harvested. There's no worse fate than that to be liquified or turned into the enemy. To see your friends and family... transformed into cannon fodder." She stopped for a moment, allowing her words to digest.  
"If you know all this, why haven't you gone to the Council?" the turian asked.  
"Don't you think I would have? I would have done everything in my power to alert them of that massive threat lying dormant in dark space! I couldn't though. Our Unifinity, who are like the Council for the different species here, shut down the Mass Relays within our systems, isolating us from the rest of the galaxy as soon as the reapers left. I have no idea how they didn't find us. Maybe we weren't registered as a threat to them. Gods, were they wrong." She chuckled harshly again.  
"I waited another couple thousand of years until the year 2157 rolled around to talk to the Council. It might have been a bad time to come in, what with the First Contact War with humans and turians making history, but I had to talk to them. Some of my people had already been escaping our systems in ships with basic FTL drives well before I did. It was inevitable that my species would want to be known to the galaxy once more but the Unifinity halted whatever progress was made on opening up the relays. Then, a small group commandeered a ship, flew off to the nearest Relay, and activated its network. Hah, gods, the Unifinity was furious beyond belief. They couldn't exile the group because they'd be getting what they wanted, a way out of their home system, but the Unifinity did not wish to execute them either. Too many memories would be lost and their families would have a fit with the way the punishment was carried out. We don't like to kill each other, although we have had rebellions happening every few thousand years over the isolation. Although the group that turned on that one Relay were detained and searched, their blueprints of the activation were gone. One of them must have sent it out to another planet or system, which was exactly what the Unifinity did not want to happen. Someone got a hold of the blueprints and each government in the different systems was overridden and the activation plans were sent to all systems. Soon the Relays were up and running just like new. Yet, despite our new freedom, we did not flood out at the same time. There were others who were perfectly fine with staying within their own systems. They knew the rest of us would come back eventually.  
"Small contingents of litharians went out through the relays in ships that imitated refugee shuttles. They would then travel to the Citadel, a floating masterpiece, and assimilate into the life there. Yes, without the Council knowing. So, now you would understand my hesitation. It was stupid of us to do that. My guess is that we did not want to interfere with the galaxy's current lifestyle. We must've had it in our heads that we would upset the balance. I don't know, but I was fed up with waiting. I took the next shuttle out in 2157 and traveled to the Citadel as fast as I could. I came under the guise as a turian diplomat. Our people are a mimetic race, able to change and keep a different form at will with the right kind of training. Don't ask me how it works; we're still trying to figure that out ourselves. You can imagine the shock and anger the Council expressed. They called in several asari commandos thinking I was a human assassin come to kill them. I held my ground and pulled up some of the boulders they kept in the nearby gardens to protect myself from the commandos' fire (I had no armor on since it would hinder my attempts at blending in). Saying they were astonished is an understatement; speechless is more like it. They could not believe that I even existed, saying that their long range scanners picked no hints of life in my part of the galaxy. I told them that we created an electromagnetic field distortion to prevent such a task from happening. I began to tell them about the reapers as soon as I could. I... realized my mistake: I should have alerted them of my presence before performing that kind of stunt. My information lost its credibility; they wrote me off as a delusional human with some type of cloaking device that allowed the wearer to be whatever race they wished to be. They wrote off the floating boulders as a poor attempt at biotics. Said I was a Red Sand addict or something.  
"My actions at the Citadel threw the Unifinity into a tailspin. They immediately rushed out to the Citadel to appease the Council races. They apologized on my behalf and called the rest of the litharians, who were already on the Citadel as registered citizens, out of hiding. There were maybe just under two thousand but that was more than enough to place us on bad terms with the Council. The Unifinity explained that it was not their goal to undermine the Council's authority. They explained that litharians simply wished to observe the different races without alerting them of our presence. The Unifinity pleaded for the Council's forgiveness and pardon, which they gave much to the Unifinity's surprise. No one knew, save for them, what the reason was. We soon integrated back into society, though few truly know of our presence; only those like Alliance, politicians, and a few in the turian, asari and salarian military for example. Back on our home world, our long range probes picked a slight change in energy in dark space. That meant only one thing: the reapers were waking up, cycle was going to continue once more. We gathered the data and sent it off to the Council. They denied it. Gods! I have no idea why! And then Sovereign came. We thought it was the end when that reaper came through. We tried to follow it but it disappeared. We could not find anything and the Council did not allow us into their databases to investigate. We managed to find Sovereign when it came to Eden Prime, but it was too late to save the colony. The damned thing vanished again to reappear at Virmire and then at the Citadel. I can't imagine the Council's reactions. The incident with Sovereign must have scared them stiff. I guess they just needed to see the damage one reaper can cause." Aluna paused.  
"Why are you telling me this?" Archangel asked.  
"Because I know who you are." Aluna straightened. Archangel stiffened slightly. "You are Garrus Vakarian, former C-Sec agent, worked with Commander Shepard when she went to take down the rogue Spectre Saren Arterius. Once Saren was gone and Sovereign dead, the Normandy was tasked with finding geth patrols in different parts of the Terminus system. The Normandy was then attacked by unknown hostiles on an assigned patrol looking for remnants of geth. Commander Shepard is now... KIA," Aluna summarized, "You are dependable and loyal without a fault. I trust you."  
Garrus was frozen for a moment but broke out of his stupor quickly. "You trust me on a whim," he said. Then he asked, "How do you know all of this?"  
"I read Shepard's mission reports and C-Sec's files on you. I have the right clearance to access such files because I was a Spectre for a time." She didn't elaborate and Garrus didn't press her.  
"Are you still recruiting?" Aluna asked after a few quiet minutes.  
"Recruiting?" Garrus asked.  
"Your group? Trying to right the many wrongs on Omega?"  
"I'd... have to talk with the others about it and let you know later. Are you staying somewhere here?"  
"Yes." Aluna typed her address on her omni-tool and sent it to Garrus. "Come over whenever you've reached your verdict," the litharian said and began to walk away before she turned back around to face the puzzled turian.  
"Thanks for tonight," she said with a soft smile before disappearing into the crowd.


	3. Chapter 3

Ch 3  
Aluna stood on the balcony for sometime watching people come and go, listening to a few scuffles in the streets below. Omega was a very dangerous place if you didn't watch your back. She turned around when she heard footsteps behind her. A sleepy-looking Garrus stood in the doorway.  
"What're you still doing up?" Garrus asked her.  
"I'm about to ask you the same thing," Aluna replied laughing quietly, "I just couldn't sleep."  
"Same here." He walked out onto the balcony to stand next to her. Garrus looked tense as he leaned on the balcony.  
"You ok?" Aluna asked.  
Garrus hung his head for a moment and turned to face her. He looked different without his visor on.  
"I... had that dream again," he said finally.  
"The Normandy's crash?"  
"Yeah. Only this time, I knew there was a way to avoid it but was too late to do anything. I almost feel as if this is a bad sign. Like this vigilante stuff is going to fail."  
"Garrus, don't say that. This 'vigilante stuff' has already done enough damage to the Blue Suns, Eclipse, and Blood Pack. Many of these people on Omega owe you for keeping these merc groups from beating them dead."  
"Yeah, but will it be enough?"  
Aluna sighed and stared off into space. "I don't know, Garrus. Living this long hasn't given me any pointers. But there's one thing this damnable longevity has shown me: you give people hope. They will see what it's like to live without fearing that every knock on their door is a merc coming to collect. When that hope - that freedom - is taken away, they have only two options: sink or swim. Fight for it or submit. We can't make all their choices for them."  
"I hope you're right."  
"I'm over 53,000 years old. Of course I'm right!" Aluna said with mock offense before laughing. Garrus joined her for a moment until the litharian faded off and turned serious.  
"Believe me, Garrus, I never planned to or wanted to live this long. Especially after seeing the destruction that the reapers caused. It felt to me that there was no hope left in the universe to stop these things. We were too scared to come out of our own systems to find a solution, but when reports of Commander Shepard poured in... She gave us hope. We immediately began searching any archives for something, anything, to help fight. If - no, when - we find something, we will let the Council know. If they deny the existence of reapers again because they're too scared... well, fuck 'em. We know where that road led to. We will build whatever device that'll help to stop the reapers because we backed off once before and look at where that got us? It's time to show the galaxy that the litharians are ready, willing, and able to fight. And this time we won't run," Aluna finished, her eyes blazing.  
Garrus chuckled once and brushed a strand of the litharian's hair back behind her ear. She smiled at him and bumped her forehead into his in the turian fashion. They stayed in that position for a few minutes enjoying each other's company until Garrus broke the quiet.  
"Have you seen Sidonis at all today?" Aluna looked up a him.  
"Come to think of it, no I haven't," she replied, furrowing her eyebrows. She was about to say something when Garrus' omni tool lit up. Garrus detached himself from Aluna and read the message.  
"It's Sidonis," Garrus said when Aluna gave him a questioning glance, "He wants me to meet him on the other side of town. Saying that he found a shipment the Blue Suns are delivering. Hitting that package would severely cripple them."  
"Do you need back up?"  
"No, I think we can do it. Plus, I don't want to wake up the rest of the team. They've had a hard week and deserve a few hours of sleep. They did good."  
"We did good, Garrus. Don't forget you're the one who's led this team to success so many times." Aluna smiled before planting a kiss on Garrus' nose before he got ready to leave.  
When he left, Aluna headed to the shower to rinse off before she went back to bed. She felt too tense for a random reason and the warm water would help her sleep better. She turned on the shower and the room steadily filled up steam. She stripped down and slipped in. A sudden quake sent adrenaline coursing through her veins twenty minutes later. It wasn't an earth quake; she would have known. She got out, dried off quickly, and pulled on her t-shirt, bra, and shorts before opening up the door -  
To come face-to-face with a Blue Suns merc who had no business of being there. Without thinking, Aluna whipped up her hand and water from the steam shot at the merc, knocking him to the ground. Aluna clenched her hand and the water froze until it was a four foot long shard of ice. The litharian threw her arm down and the shard responded by imbedding itself in the merc's belly. Aluna returned the water to a liquid state and had it form a sphere in the middle of her hand where she carried it to check the other nine members that slept. Aluna opened the door to a human named Daniel. Her heart sunk to her stomach as light from the open door revealed a pool of blood on the sheets.  
Panic gripped her as she forced herself to calm down. When she heard the sharp retort of assault rifles and the return fire, her nerves calmed slightly as she ran to the other rooms. There were a handful of mercs firing on the batarian named Tagarn, Kyn the human, and Murr the salarian. Aluna flicked the water she carried out in the open so that it formed several drops. She froze them and sent the ice knives towards the mercs. The shards crippled the mercs allowing her squad mates the time to finish them off.  
"Where are the others?" Aluna asked them.  
"Finick, Kurio, and Marl are dead," Kyn said.  
"Teg's alive; damn bastard got hit in the leg when going for cover. We got bandages and medi gel on him before the bleeding got worse. Kib's watching him," Tagarn continued.  
"Where's Daniel?" Kyn asked. Aluna looked at Kyn for a moment and turned away.  
"God dammit!" Kyn swore earning him a sharp glance from Tagarn.  
"Keep your voice down or they'll find us!" Targarn hissed.  
"Too late!" Murr announced as he spotted a trio of mercs running at at them. One rolled a grenade towards the group. Aluna responded by throwing her arm and pulled at the bits of dirt and rock buried beneath the structure and in the room as fast as she could to create a shield. It formed just in time to block the grenade's blast. Aluna kept the rock shield up to protect her comrades while Tagarn called Garrus up on his omni tool.  
After a few tense seconds, the turian finally answered.  
"Garrus, where the hell are you!?" Tagarn yelled.  
"I'm almost back to the base! Sidonis set us up!"  
"That...!" Tagarn was speechless with rage at Sidonis' betrayal.  
"I'll be there as fast as I can. Just hang in there."  
"You better get here now. There's too many."  
"Sit tight-"  
Conversation cut off as an EMP blast cut through the building, temporarily cutting off COMMs.  
Tagarn swore profusely in his language as he shut off his omni tool and fired at the mercs invading their home.  
"Lou, could use some fire right now," Kyn said pulling back into the cover of her shield.  
"Yeah, gimme a sec," Aluna replied adjusting her position and conjuring up a small flame that grew bigger with each passing second. She moved to get up when a couple bullets pierced her side. They passed right through her body but hit the major veins that allowed her elemental bending to work. The flame instantly died out as did the shield. Kyn quickly threw up his hands and a blue biotic shield flew out from his hands.  
"Thanks," Aluna said as she took a pistol from Murr. Blood pooled from her side. Without her elemental veins she would not be able to heal her teammates or herself. Murr applied the necessary medi gel to her wound to keep the blood at bay.  
"Murr, get Teg and Kib out now! Get them to safety," Tagarn ordered. The salarian looked at the batarian for a moment before darting quickly out of Kyn's shield.  
"I can't keep... this up for... much longer, guys. We have to move!" Kyn announced breathing heavily from the effort of maintaining the shield.  
"Move into the kitchen," Tagarn said as he pulled Aluna up to her feet. Kyn struggled to his feet and the trio moved quickly into the other part of the house. The bullets lessened as they put more space and cover between them.  
"How... the hell did... Sidonis plan this?" Aluna panted.  
"I don't know, but we're... sure as hell gonna... find out... why," breathed Kyn as he lowered his arms; the shield dropped with him. They took cover beneath the sink where the cabinets took most of the damage. Bullets pinged off everywhere to a point that the group had to stay ducked to avoid getting hit.  
"We just need to get out of here," Aluna said, "We can't take them all."  
"And then... what're we gonna do? We're already notorious," asked Kyn.  
"I don't know. But anywhere's better than here." Suddenly Murr staggered in.  
The batarian, human, and litharian turned to see him standing in the doorway. The salarian was badly wounded. He dropped to his knees.  
"There were... too many. We couldn't... hold them off. They just kept... coming," Murr said and fell to one side.  
Tagarn, who was closest, grabbed the unconscious salarian and dragged him closer. Aluna placed her hands about an inch over his body and a soft blue light emanated from her palms.  
Her breath hitched. "E-even if I could heal him, there's just too much damage. Whoever shot me knew what they were aiming for. I... can't... help him," she said as tears made their way down her face. Her fingers twitched as she sought a way to save her friend.  
"Try! We'll keep you covered," said Tagarn. He looked around the kitchen doorway that Murr had just emerged from and saw the bodies of Teg and Kib who were brutally shot. Aluna focused as much energy as she could into healing Murr but it was no use. She felt his heart beat slow as the salarian opened his large eyes again.  
"Don't... waste energy on... me. You tried and... I thank you... for that," Murr said softly, "Get... out of here. Save... yourselves and live... to fight another... day." His eyes rolled back and Aluna felt his heart beat one last time before stopping altogether. Aluna bit her lip as she gently pulled the salarian's lids down and staggered to her feet.  
She hobbled over to Kyn and Tagarn who continued to fire. "We need to go now!" she yelled at them over the gunfire. Tagarn turned around to say something but spotted Murr's limp body. The batarian swore softly and grabbed Kyn's attention.  
"Look," Aluna, "I have enough elemental energy to throw up a dense fog in here. That'll buy us some time since those mercs will be stumbling around in the dark. We have to run."  
"What about Garrus? They'll shoot him if he shows up here," Kyn replied.  
"We'll let him know somehow," Tagarn said. Aluna pulled out her pistol and aimed for the water pipes on the ceiling. The pipes burst and water cascaded down onto the mercs and vigilantes.  
"Shit! Find that bitch now!" yelled the merc leader but it was already too late. Aluna whipped her hands around in a complicated gesture and held them out in front of her. She breathed in deeply and when she exhaled, a little white puff escaped her lips. All around the building a dense fog creeped its way inside. The litharian took in another deep breath and exhaled slower as she lowered her arms.  
"There," she whispered, "That should buy us some time. They'll be too busy stumbling around blind to find us."  
Kyn slapped some medi gel onto Tagarn's shoulder and they crept out of kitchen, doubled over to lower their chances of being seen. They nearly made it to the back door when Kyn accidentally stepped on some of the shattered glass that littered the floor. The sound echoed loudly in the confined space. Aluna turned around carefully and saw Kyn grimace.  
"Over there!" yelled a merc. Aluna swore quietly in her language.  
"I am sick of this," she hissed, green energy swirling around her clenched fists.  
"Don't," Kyn whispered.  
"If I create a distraction, that'll give you two time to get the hell out of here."  
"You'll die here. Do you think that's what Garrus would want?"  
"Garrus wouldn't want any of this." Aluna hung her head and bit her lip; in her head, decisions were warring with each other.  
"If you think it's what you should do, then do it," Tagarn said, pain leaking into his voice.  
"I'll buy you as much time as I can," Aluna replied and gave her teammates a sad smile before hardening her expression. "These fuckers are going to wish that they never came here," she growled and stood up. She walked casually through the kitchen into the living area where most of the mercs were centered. She pulled some of the fog around her to remain invisible to their heat sensors. She centered herself, taking in a breath and letting it out slowly. She concentrated on fire. Each time she breathed out, flames formed on her hands and grew bigger with each exhale. She opened her eyes after her tenth breath; from where they sat, Tagarn and Kyn could see how incredibly pissed off she was.  
Without warning, Aluna sprayed the nearby mercs with fire. It tore through their shields and fused their armor with their skin. Howls of pain and agony echoed throughout the complex as Aluna danced in between them, flames sprouting from the palms of her hands. The normally blue bands that decorated her skin were now a bright red-orange. She stomped her foot quickly sending a tremor towards her friends to get them on their way. When a litharian is faced with combat, they enter a similar blood haze that the krogans go through. Everything else is blocked out; they only focus on the threat in front of them and protecting those they love. Aluna switched to water and twisted her hands in front of three mercs. She shut her eyes tightly, she reached into their bodies and focused her energy on finding their vulnerable areas. When she found the weak points she clenched her fists and the mercs dropped dead. She spun around and formed several thick ice daggers. She threw them with stunning accuracy five more mercs dropped, two more were wounded.  
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Tagarn and Kyn hurrying over to the other door. A merc was following closely. Her chest tightened and she sent a strong gust of wind out around her to clear a path towards her friends. The rest of the mercs flew head over heels as Aluna ran at the merc. She didn't have enough energy to direct the gust towards the merc; she had already run out of ammo for her pistol after those last two shots to the ceiling water pipes. She saw him raise the gun and aim at Tagarn. Just as she was about call out something hard and powerful smacked into her side. It exploded, tossing her out the nearby window and into air traffic. She heard two shots as she faded into darkness.


	4. Chapter 4

Ch 4  
Aluna came to about an hour later. She found herself on a lower part of Omega that she had never been to. Her head throbbed painfully and she ached badly. Was I hit with a rocket? she wondered as she slowly got to her feet. She nearly collapsed from the effort of rising.  
Gods, how much damage did I take?  
She examined her body. Her clothes on one side were barely hanging on by threads, the skin underneath was raw and sensitive to the touch. The whole right side of her hurt. She placed a hand on that side and pressed down on it as she rose. Aluna started walking slowly but froze when she heard voices.  
"Why the hell did he launch a rocket at her?" asked a merc.  
"I don't know," replied his friend exasperation leaking into his voice, "It was pretty damned stupid. I mean, the explosion knocked her out the window."  
"It was a long drop." Even as he said that, the merc felt doubtful.  
"Yeah, but those litharians are hard to kill." Aluna's blood turned cold. How would a merc know about litharians? How did he know what she was? She crept closer to the wall to hear better.  
"We should search the area to see if she's around. The rocket took a lot out of her. They may be hard to kill but they're not invulnerable." How many of my kind have you killed? Aluna thought angerly but dismissed it quickly; the merc most likely heard something about her kind from his boss who somehow got a hold of litharian files.  
But how the hell did they know where to hit me? To know exacting where to shoot me to render my elemental attacks nearly useless? Either it was pure dumb assed luck or someone knew... Aluna risked peeking around the bend and saw the mercs walking away, their conversation turned to other things. She nearly walked out to confront them but couldn't risk getting killed; plus a gunship had just flown into view. In her current state, there was no way for her to withstand its firepower. She withdrew around the corner and slid down to the ground with her back against the wall. She closed her eyes and focused on changing her form. Shape shifting didn't take that much energy out of her if she didn't focus too much on the details. As long as no one took a good look at her, she'd pass as an inhabitant of Omega. She settled on being a female batarian named Ghora. Her breath hitched slightly as the raw skin contorted and twisted around to the dark brown and gray of the batarian's. She scrunched up her face and felt it ripple softly as the second set of eyes formed and her face lengthened. When she opened all fours eyes, studied herself with a small mirror she made out of ice. She bared her now sharp teeth at her reflection. She'd pass as a batarian at a distance, she thought. Aluna hoped that no one would get curious enough to think she was worth mugging; she wasn't in the mood for getting jumped. She stood slowly and decided she needed to get a new pair of clothes. She searched the nearby kiosks that were closed, made sure that there were no security cameras nearby and snatched brown and maroon refugee jumper. She felt a little guilty for stealing but she knew that this particular shopkeeper wasn't completely in the right himself, so the guilty feeling didn't last too long. She found a nearby alleyway and changed quickly. Once in her new attire, Ghora the batarian stepped out and merged in with the night crowd.  
There were a few humans and batarians talking about the Blue Suns recent attack on a rival gang. The raid was located in 500 block. The Blue Suns had apparently lost a lot of men and were now open for recruiting.  
"I'm thinking about joining up," continued the human.  
"You'll get yourself killed, Dehn," replied one of the batarians, "You don't even know how to shoot let alone fight."  
"I've been practicing," Dehn answered, sounding offended that his friend would dare doubt his combat skills.  
"Uh huh," chuckled the batarian, "Then why have we seen you at Afterlife for the past two weeks?"  
"I- uh," Dehn trailed off looking guilty.  
"Knew it," muttered the second batarian. Ghora nearly growled in frustration.  
"Men," she muttered. One batarian snapped his head around and looked at her. Ghora's heart pounded against her chest.  
"You say something?" he demanded.  
"No," she replied, forcing herself not to stammer. The batarian stared her down for a few tense seconds before she dropped her gaze, attempting to look cowed. She glanced up right as the batarian looked away. She exhaled quietly and stepped out of the crowd.  
As she walked, she began to ponder her situation. She wanted badly to go back to see the damage done to her home. Her heart clenched at the thought that she wasn't able to save Tagarn, Kyn, and the others. She hoped Garrus was alright. She wanted to get a message out to him, to tell him that she was alive but she couldn't risk sending anything for fear of being found. And Sidonis...! He had to be behind this, he just had to be! And those mercs... She had to get word to her contact on Omega. Her pace quickened. She knew that a litharian turned salarian owned a kiosk somewhere on the lower wards of Omega. If she could reach him, he could send out feelers to see if somehow litharian files had leaked out. He could also quite possibly send a message to Garrus...  
Ghora bit her lip as she thought about what the turian was going through at the moment. He would think her a coward for not coming back, she just knew it! Guilt washed through her as she moved down to the lower wards. He had to understand... She still felt horrible. She nearly ran down the stairs that brought her to the marketplace where her contact lived. She slowed her pace and looked around until she spotted Chek's Omnitools. The litharian there repaired any and all tech at a decent price. She saw that he was just now opening his shop, coming back from a lunch break no doubt, and rushed over to him. The "salarian" was light red-orange and his eyes were a dark green betraying his affinity for the fire and earth elements.  
"Ah!" he said, his best smile lighting up his face, "A new customer! What brings you to Chek's Omnitools?"  
Ghora rolled her eyes. "Someone who could use a little help," she said.  
"What needs to be repaired?" Did he really not recognize her?  
"Cut the act, Kindre," she said frustration coloring her voice. "Please," she added. The salarian's smile slipped slightly.  
"Kindre? I think you're mistaken. There's no one here that goes by that name," he replied. Ghora's eyes narrowed.  
"Ghora, lay off the poor guy. He's had a long day," came a voice from behind the kiosk. Ghora's eyes widened in surprise. Out step a young man who looked to be in his mid-twenties. Red bands criss crossed his thick arms with green vine-bands weaving in between them. His hair was a dark auburn and his eyes were such a dark shade of green that they were nearly black.  
"Kindre?" she asked. The salarian looked between them.  
"I just remembered something. I forgot to get the latest repair from the back," he announced and walked out to give the two privacy.  
"And that was...?" Ghora said gesturing to the retreating salarian.  
"Actually Chek? Yeah. It's a long story. Remind to tell you about it later," Kindre replied. He smiled as he watched slight confusion dance across the "batarian's" face.  
"Now... Who's asking for Kindre?" he asked. Ghora gave him a look and crossed her arms, all four eyes glaring at him. His smile widened until his teeth peeked out.  
"Good to see you too, Aluna," he said as he recognized the litharian, "It's been a long time."  
"Yes, it has," she replied, "How'd you know it was me?"  
"A few litharians that come through here wear Ghora's face. I actually had the pleasure of meeting the women they modeled after."  
"Oh, gods. You can't be serious?"  
"I am," Kindre replied, smothering a bubble of laughter, "It was... interesting. I didn't think she was real. She said that she'd been having all sorts of identity problems of late and came here to see if I could help her. I had to send her away. I told her that my kiosk only deals in repairing tech; I don't do security."  
"Bullshit."  
"I know. I know." The litharian shook his head. "Now, what do I owe the pleasure of having you here?"  
The litharian glanced around before her eyes settled on the space that Chek vacated,  
"We can trust him. He's owes me one after I saved his hide from that Blood Pack leader, Garm, when he owed them money."  
Ghora looked doubtful but turned her attention back on her friend. "Did you hear about the Blue Suns raid over in the 500 block?"  
"Yeah. A lot of people died back there. So I've heard." He watched the "batarian" as her head dropped a fraction. His eyebrows furrowed as he put two and two together.  
"You were there?" he asked incredulously.  
"Yes. I joined a... group who thought they were doing good by fighting back against the gangs that rule here. They were doing really well... until a few hours ago. One of our members betrayed us. A turian by the name of Lantar Sidonis. He led one our teammates off saying that there was a shipment that came in for the Blue Suns that, if destroyed, would severely cripple them. We were ambushed, five of of our men were already dead by the time we figured out what was going on."  
"What about the one this Sidonis led off?"  
"He was alive... I don't know about- no, he's alive. Anyway, as we were fighting, a merc pierced my main elemental veins, rendering my powers useless. I don't know how and I highly doubt it was dumb luck that aided his aim. Someone got a hold of litharian files. I don't how."  
"I'll send out some feelers and let you know if I find anything."  
"Ok... There were twelve of us in total. Nearing the end of the skirmish, only three of us remained in the building. One was wounded and I had to get them out of there, so threw up a fog to blind the invading mercs and got to work. It was a stupid thing to do because when I looked over to make sure they got out, a merc was creeping up on them. I ran out of ammo and was nearly wasted on energy so I ran out and was nearing the merc when someone hit me with a rocket and launched me out the window. I was... conscious enough... to hear two gunshots..." She trailed off, tears pricked her eyes. Without thinking, her form reverted back to its original. Kindre glanced around but there was no one nearby who saw.  
"They killed all of them, Kindre," she whispered, "I couldn't help them."  
"Well, you're not helping them by crying now, are you?" the other litharian replied. Aluna looked up at her friend as he walked back behind the counter of the salarian's kiosk. He turned on a terminal and began to search through it.  
"What are you doing?" she asked.  
"I'm going to see if I can help your friend out. What's his name?"  
"Ah..."  
"Don't worry. I'm not going to rat him out."  
Aluna still hesitated before answering, "Garrus. Garrus Vakarian. The locals started calling him Archangel lately."  
"So that's who that was," Kindre replied, looking up from the terminal. The orange glow from the screen illuminated his face.  
"Yup..." Aluna crossed her arms across her chest and walked over to Kindre.  
She heard Kindre growl in frustration. "Filla," he muttered in his language, "Whoever that Sidonis was, he's pretty good. Damn good, that's for sure."  
"You can't trace him?"  
"I can't find him. He must have erased any and all files that Omega had on him. He probably emptied his bank accounts too. Those have to have a trail..." He continued muttering to himself. About fifteen minutes passed before either of them spoke. Kindre glanced up at Aluna who stood against the counter lost in thought.  
"Hey," he said, poking her arm. She looked over at him.  
"I wasn't able to find any info on the guy but I was able to trace the paper trail. I'll send this to your friend. See if he can make any sense of it." He smiled reassuringly before returning to the terminal.  
"Anyway, I need to see if I can get you out of Omega as quietly as I can. Did you register with your actual name and race?"  
"No. Human. Natalie Bernhoff."  
"Alright. Give me a sec..." Kindre typed away before finding Aluna's alias. He checked it over.  
"It says deceased," he said. Aluna furrowed her eyebrows and Kindre turned the monitor around so she could see. There it was right under her birth date.  
"Reason?"  
"You got caught in the crossfire. Wandering on the streets during a merc raid is not very wise, Nat." Kindre grinned at her in a sly way. She smirked.  
"So... Name?" Aluna pondered for a moment.  
"Kiela Sorrey."  
"Race?"  
"Asari."  
"Alright... Let me just add a bit 'o info annnnd we're done." He pulled out an omni tool from under the counter and transferred the information into it. "This should pass the scanners," he said as he handed the omni tool over to Aluna. "As long as you don't go to Thessia or any other main asari planets you should be good. Just give me a call if you need help oooor if you run into any trouble."  
Aluna took the omni tool gratefully. "Thanks," she said. She glanced around once before changing shape. Her rippled slightly and her skin mixed until it was a royal blue that was blue enough to cover the bands on her body and face. Her hair disappeared into the asari squid-like tendrils. Blue tattoos sprouted across her cheekbones and around her eyes which turned a light blue. The batarian attire she wore for her previous form sagged a little. Kindre rummaged around under the counter until he found a spare set of clothes. Aluna took them and went to the back of the kiosk to change quickly. When she came back, she looked around.  
"Something wrong?" Kindre asked.  
"Nothing really... It's just that Chek hasn't been back for a while." She glanced one more worried look around the area before moving to give Kindre the batarian outfit.  
"Keep it. You don't know when spare clothes like that will come in handy," he said. Aluna smiled slightly.  
"Will you please send him a message for me?" she asked after a moment.  
Kindre nodded. "Yeah, I'll let him know you're ok."  
"Thank you." Her smile drooped a bit. "I... just feel like a coward running away like this," she murmured.  
"Don't be. I'm sure he'll understand."  
"I guess. I hope so. Still, I feel guilty."  
"He knows you did your best to protect his men."  
"I could've done better though."  
"Coulda, woulda, shoulda. It's all in the past now. Now, you have to focus on what's ahead of you. Stay alive, keep fighting. And since you gave me the name of the faction that hit you guys, I'll wreak a little havoc of mine here." He gave her an evil grin.  
Aluna laughed and then lowered her voice so that only Kindre could hear. "Keep an eye on Chek. Just to be safe. I don't want you to get hurt either," she whispered.  
"I won't but if it makes you happy, I'll keep better tags on him."  
"Ok, I'll get out of your hair. I'll let you know when I'm on another planet."  
"Alright, but send it through the secure channels. Have you checked out your stabilizer lately?" A stabilizer was like a biotic's implants only worn on a litharians wrist. It attaches to their skin and embeds itself in their veins to monitor the amount of energy being used for their elemental attacks. It also warns the litharian if they're pushing their abilities too hard and will instantly send a coolant liquid through their veins to cool the litharian down before she burns out. There are codes that override the safety measures in times of need.  
"Ah..." Aluna glanced at her blue wrist. "No. That's why I've been feeling funny lately. I forgot to put it back on when I went to bed."  
"Good thing I have a spare." Kindre pulled out a light gray arm guard that covered the wrist to mid-forearm. "It's the latest model. All the bugs are fixed. It will even adapt to an omni tool so that when you shift, you'll be able to remain inconspicuous."  
"That's good. You have no idea how grateful I am. If there's anyway for me to repay you, I will."  
"Weeeeell," Kindre drawled out, "There is this one thing I think you could do..."  
"No." She set her face. Kindre laughed aloud.  
"You have no sense of humor," he laughed before he grew serious, "The only way you can repay me is by staying alive."  
"Are you sure?"  
"Yeah, I am. Now go. If I remember correctly, there's a shuttle that'll be departing in about fifteen minutes to make a few long ranged stops around galaxy. Your bank account's already been set up so there's no problem there."  
"Thanks again!" Aluna replied and hugged her friend tightly before running off to catch her shuttle.  
Her journey was just about to get a lot harder.


	5. Chapter 5

Ch 5  
Back aboard the Normandy, nearing the Strenous System

Garrus rolled the two inch crystal between his fingers she had given him as a good luck charm as he became lost in thought. The memory of returning back to the complex was still fresh in his mind. The smell of rain had not vacated the building, left over remnants of Aluna's fog defense lingered close to the ground. His gun was drawn when he entered but there was no need: the mercs were either dead or long gone by now.  
The turian checked the pulses of both friend and foe. Dead. He heard a cough coming from the other room. He instantly raised his gun and prayed to whatever spirits that it was a teammate. He followed the cough as it grew weaker. His pace quickened until he reached the end of the hallway that led off the kitchen. There, in a pool of blood, sat Kyn.  
"Shit," they muttered in unison upon spotting each other.  
"Well, you're still breathing so that's a good sign," Garrus said and waved his omni tool over his friend.  
"It's... generally a good thing... when someone's breathing," Kyn replied hoarsely.  
As Garrus finished scanning and grimaced. Kyn had internal bleeding and he had already lost a lot of blood. He looked up at his friend who gave him a sad smile.  
"We gave... 'em hell, Garrus," Kyn said, his voice fading.  
"I know. Look, let me get some medi gel in you and head to the nearest clinic," Garrus replied searching for options to save his downed teammate.  
"It's too late for that, Vakarian. I've already lost too much blood," Kyn repliied softly.  
"No, it's not." Spirits... First Shepard, now my whole team... "Wait, Aluna...?"  
"I don't know what happened to her. I think... one of the mercs hit her with a rocket launcher... and knocked her out the window." Kyn saw Garrus cast a doubtful look at one of the shattered windows.  
"C'mon, bro, she wouldn't let a rocket stop her," he said jokingly. Kyn's laughter turned into a violent coughing fit. He spat up more blood.  
"Damn," he muttered. Garrus stayed with his friend until Kyn drew his last breath.

Garrus shook his head at the memory. A hiss of static drew the turian's head towards the speaker on the ceiling.  
"Garrus, we've reached Arcane." It Shepard. "Meet me and Samara in the CIC."  
"On my way, Commander," Garrus replied. He held the crystal one last time. Its pulse had quickened since he last checked it. Garrus closed his eyes once and pocketed the crystal before leaving the main battery.  
Once he joined Samara and the Commander, Joker had already docked the Normandy. The shore party stepped out the airlock and into a beautiful reception area. An asari concierge stood a few feet away with two mechs standing by her. She smiled upon seeing the three.  
"Welcome, Commander," she said in a welcoming manner although her eyes flitted to the Justicar and back, "I'm Sera. What brings you to Arcane?"  
"I'm recruiting people for a mission," Shepard replied.  
"Anyone in particular?"  
"Yes. Has a litharian named Aluna passed through here recently?"  
The asari consulted the data pad in her hands. The two mechs departed, deeming the shore party non-threatening. "Ah, yes, actually," the asari answered after scrolling through her data pad. "We have two litharians here at the moment. Neither go by that nam-" A sudden explosion knocked down a wall near the lobby.  
"What the hell was that?" Shepard demanded. They could now hear raised voices and see a large crowd gathering just outside the reception area. The asari threw a worried look back at the main desk and saw two other asari quickly leaving the room.  
She shook her blue head and looked up at the commander. "Litharians," she said, "The you're looking for? Aluna? She arrived here about two months back. When she came in here, she looked like she was running from someone but she never stated who, of course." The asari began walking towards the hole. "Anyway, she passed through customs and was staying at the Aqua Regency Hotel. A few weeks after her arrival, a young man showed up demanding the female litharian's location. We had to... ask him to leave since he was causing a disturbance. He left unwillingly only to arrive a few days ago. There was something not right about him. When he first shown up he, he was hot headed and ready for fight. Now, he was eerily calm and collected but there was something brewing underneath. Something... that wasn't good. He asked if he could know the location of his... partner-" at this, Garrus stiffened slightly -"since they were separated for some reason. I told him she had changed hotels and was now residing in the Skyline Hotel. The receptionist who was working with me at the time looked at me like I was crazy. Maybe I was. There was a reason that woman looked scared when she showed up here and I'd bet all of my credits that he was the reason. He left and we haven't heard word one since he came here. Unitl today. They haven't been fighting long. We've been trying to get people to leave since the fight started but with little success." The asari looked out the hole where the crowd stood transfixed.  
Shepard looked out and up. The commander could just make out the aerial fight that was taking place about thirty stories above them.  
"Let's see if we can break it up then," Shepard said as she and the other two stepped outside and into the crowd.  
They could now hear the words that being screamed at each other from up high.  
"Why couldn't you leave me well enough alone?" shouted the woman as she threw a lance of fire at her opponent. The man knocked it aside casually before responding.  
"Because you never did truly sever our bond," he yelled back. The woman shrieked in response, obviously agitated. Shepard could tell that statement had been repeated several times before they had shown up.  
Fire shot out from her mouth. She whipped her arms over her head and threw another fireball at him. The man had to move quickly out of the way to avoid getting burned. Shepard squinted her eyes up at the two litharians and saw that they were floating. Her visor zoomed in and the commander noticed a breeze swirling around both of them, keeping them from falling to their deaths.  
It was amazing to watch them fight. The commander knew very little about litharians; the elementals released limited information about their race for some unknown reason. The two circled each other warily. Shepard glanced over at Garrus; he was staring transfixed up at the two opponents.  
"Is it her?" Shepard asked.  
"I... Yes. It is," the turian answered.  
"She is an excellent fighter," Samara observed.  
"That she is," Garrus murmured.  
"If we're able to avoid her dying, she'll be a great asset to the team," Shepard muttered to herself.  
The woman raised her arms in front of her, took a deep breath, and threw her arms apart. Water droplets appeared seemingly out of nowhere. They began to harden and formed ice daggers. The swirled threateningly around her. The man placed one arm in front of him and waved it back and forth. Shepard looked down and saw rocks and bits of dirt flying up to join him. He clenched his hand and the rocks that floated in front of him formed four feet shields that circled him.  
"Leave," the woman growled, "I severed our bond correctly a long way back."  
"Then why hasn't your imprint left me?" the man asked smugly.  
"Because you're a sick torshkett who never lets anything go."  
The man's face reddened. Whatever that word meant, it was a definite insult. Garrus snickered softly. Shepard looked over at the turian.  
"She's only used that term a few times since I've known her. It roughly translates into 'sterile bitch ass' or 'no-balls son of a bitch'," Garrus explained, "Either way, it's a strike to his manhood." Shepard smirked.  
"So, how do we get her down so you can talk to her?" Samara asked.  
"I guess we have to wait it out. My biotics aren't strong enough to lift me up thirty stories to chat," Shepard replied.  
Up above, the two attacked each other. The ice daggers shot out quickly; most hit the rock shields or were suddenly changed direction and flew back at their master. Aluna quickly dodged them and ducked when two of the earthen shields were thrown at her. They crashed into a building behind Aluna and shattered the glass. The crowd let out a collective scream as the shards tumbled down. Aluna sent a large gust of wind towards her attacker to stun him.  
The gust smacked her opponent hard and flew him into an empty building; a dim crash could be heard on ground level, as well as several foreign curses.  
Aluna held her hands, palms down, closed her eyes and let out a deep breath. The bands on her arms, face, and legs glowed a soft green with yellow swirls. The shards were about twenty feet away from the crowd when they froze mid air. Samara had thrown up a quick biotic shield the encompassed most of the crowd. The shards rose even higher. Aluna opened her eyes just as the biotic shield dropped when Samara was sure the shards would not fall again. Her hold over the glass and bits of rock that kept the glass from falling wavered slightly when she met Garrus' gaze.  
Wait one, she mouthed. She saw him nod once. Aluna then pulled the glass and rocks up until they slowly spun around her waist. There was an enraged yell and Aluna's eyes flicked up to the building a few thousand feet in front of her. The man had shaken off the dust and dirt and was flying fast over in her direction. The air prickled with static electricity as a darr cloud followed him. The crowd could see a sudden flash of lightning that struck the man out of nowhere. He never wavered as two more lightning strikes appeared.  
"Get these people out of here!" Aluna shouted at the crowd. The wind had picked quickly and the sky darkened with each passing second. The wind had carried her voice down and snapped the crowd out of their trance. They hardly needed any prompting; they knew something big was about to go down. Several ran into the nearby entrances and poked their heads out as the man grew closer and closer. He held out his left arm; lightning struck and sparks swirled around his body. Aluna drew her arms up and moved them in slow patterns. Lightning hit her as well and sparked across the rocks and glass that lay in front of her.  
As soon as they man was within two hundred feet of her, he threw out his arms in front of him and a bolt of lightning flew from his fingertips. Aluna threw out her arms at the same time and the glass, rocks, and bolt were thrown at her opponent. Both struck their intended targets. A loud crash and boom sounded when both litharians hit. The man was thrown out over the tallest building in the vicinity and was gone. Aluna smacked the building directly behind her and she sunk down.  
She saw that she was falling, conjured up a weak breeze that carried her over to a maintenance shaft. She pulled herself over the railing, stumbled to ground, and got to her feet to start a loping jog.


	6. Chapter 6

Ch. 6  
"That... was impressive," Shepard said as the shore party came out of cover.  
"She's injured badly and I highly doubt her opponent is down for the count. We have to reach her before he returns," Samara announced.  
"Right," Shepard said and was about to walk over to the conceirge that had helped them earlier when Garrus' omni tool flashed. Puzzled, the turian opened the message. He checked the frequency. His eyes widened. The channel's name came up as RainyDay53000; this was the channel that Garrus and Aluna created so that they could talk to each other privately.  
Nobody had access to it other than him and...  
He read the message quickly: "Vakarian, Coordinates to maintenance. Will upload after each checkpoint. Hurry.  
- Lou."  
"Commander!" Garrus said, "I have coordinates to the service tunnel she went in. But we need to move now."  
"You're sure they're from her?" Shepard asked.  
"Yes."  
"Lead the way." The three took off with Garrus on point.

Their path led them up a stair way and down a long hallway until they reached a maintenance door. Garrus double checked his omni tool; this was the door. Shepard and Samara got on either side of the door as Garrus unlocked it. The door slid open quietly with no one behind it. Garrus' omni tool beeped softly. Another message. He opened it just as an earthquake shook the building hard.  
"What was that?" Shepard asked.  
"Nothing good," Garrus replied as he looked at the message.  
Why the hell are you waiting by the door? He's on his way!  
We've noticed... How do you know where we are?  
Security cameras. If I can access them, so can he. Get your ass in gear and move, Vakarian. He'll bring the whole building down if he has to. I'll hold off his attacks as long as I can. Just move!  
Moving.  
Disable any cameras you see. Will slow him down. I'll see what I can do about the damage expenses.  
On it.  
See you soon.  
See you.  
Garrus closed the messages feature.  
"She needs us to disable any cameras to slow Crazy down," he announced, "Any cameras she has access to, he will too. We need to move."  
"How far away is she?" Shepard asked.  
"Not far." Another quake racked the building. Pipes overhead burst, throwing water down onto the team.  
Without saying another word, the shore party took off again. Puddles that collected on the floor suddenly moved with the team, swishing this way and that. Every time the streams of water hit the wall, something shorted out.  
Cameras are really hidden, the Commander thought as she ran. Garrus threw his arm up and activated Overload on his omni tool and which flew twenty feet forward, disabling any security equipment in their way.  
An explosion sounded behind them. They turned around to see a geyser of fire coming down the hallway.  
"Oh shit," Garrus breathed.  
"Run!" Shepard yelled. They started sprinting down the hallway when a four foot tall hole opened up in the metal near them. Not questioning its convenience, they piled in and the hole sealed behind them. They could faintly feel the heat behind the wall.  
"That was too close," Samara said as the group got their bearings.  
They could hear a howl of sudden rage in the hallway they just barely escaped from.  
"He's not far behind," Shepard whispered. Garrus placed a finger in front of his mouth, signalling the other two to remain quiet. He pulled out his omni tool.  
They have good hearing and can feel vibrations through the floor, he typed.  
Shepard gave the turian the "you-could've-mentioned-this-earlier-?" look to which Garrus responded with an apologetic shrug. He nodded his head in the direction of the maintenance shaft they were dumped into since none of them wanted to risk going back out into that hall again.  
They moved as quietly as they could, avoiding construction equipment and other obstacles that lay discarded in the hall. They were about halfway down when a distant thud sounded back where the metal hole sealed up.  
"Move," Shepard hissed and they picked up their pace. Aluna's checkpoints updated every three hundred feet. Behind them the metal patch over the hole they came through burst open. They needed to move. Shepard pulled out a rocket launcher and continued to run with it. Garrus' omni tool beeped.  
What the HELL does your commander think she's doing?! Aluna typed. Garrus turned around and saw what his commander was carrying.  
He gave her a questioning glance. "It's modded. It'll slow him down," was all she said. Suddenly she spun around and threw out a Shockwave the thundered down the hall. Their pursuer jumped over it but he was focused too much on the biotic attack to hear two rockets coming his way. One rocket smacked him right in the face. The other hit him in his gut and spun him backward where a hole in the floor opened up quickly and swallowed him whole. They could hear metal screeching underneath and knew they didn't have that much time.  
They booked it.  
A minute later, Garrus' omni tool beeped once more with the last of the coordinates. The navpoint flashed quickly in the direction of a door. Samara glanced down.  
"She's lost a lot of blood," the Justicar noted grimly. Garrus rapped quickly on the door four times. The slid open. Inside stood a young woman who looked like she was in her mid twenties. She was covered in purple-red gore. One hand was putting pressure on her left side to staunch the blood. She was also aiming a gun at them.  
"Before you take me to your ship, Commander, I need to know you are who you say you are," she stated. She saw Shepard's eyes go to her wounds.  
"Don't worry. I have time," she assured them.  
"How do you want us to prove our identities?" Shepard asked.  
"I'm sure Garrus can tell an imposter from the original. He may be able to imitate someone but he doesn't know everything about them."  
"'He'?"  
"Corilion. My... ex. The one who keeps trying to kill me."  
"Ah," Shepard said.  
She turned her blue-green gaze onto Garrus.  
"What do you want to know?" the turian asked her.  
"Who were we running from the first night we met?" she asked.  
"Blue Suns mercs."  
"What did I give you for luck?"  
"A crystal made from water, earth, and some of... your own energy."  
"What color is it?"  
"Blue-purple."  
"May I see it?" Without hesitation, Garrus pulled out the tiny crystal from one of his pockets. It shone dimly in the sparsely lit room. Aluna lifted her hand and cupped the crystal and closed her eyes. The gem flashed brightly for a few seconds before going dormant again. Her eyes opened and she smiled.  
"It's good to see you," she said, relief pregnant in her voice. Her combative shell peeled back and Garrus could how torn and exhausted she was. The litharian swayed slightly on her feet and fell to the floor when her knees buckled.


	7. Chapter 7

Ch. 7

"Shit," she muttered. Her hand that was pressed up against her side came away with blood. "Damned bastard knew where to hit me, that's for sure," she muttered to herself as Garrus waved his omni tool over. The litharian glanced up and gave Shepard a grim smile.  
"You must be Commander Shepard. Garrus has told me a lot about you," she said and held out her hand. Shepard took it and grasped it firmly.  
"Most of it good?" Shepard joked, breaking the ice. Aluna nodded.  
"I just wish we could have met under better circumstances," the litharian replied.  
"Me too. Can you walk?"  
The litharian glanced down at her legs uncertainly.  
"She wasn't kidding about the damage," Garrus announced.  
"How bad is it?" Shepard asked. Garrus pulled up a holo-diagram.  
"Three fractured ribs, broken left foot, nearly dislocated shoulder, several lacerations all over my body, two broken vertebrae, and tiny bit of internal bleeding," Aluna listed nonchalantly. "I've had worse," she added, "Just not when my regen wasn't working. So, the answer to your question, Commander, is that no, I don't think I'll be able to walk on own."  
"Then we better get you t Dr. Chakwas and Mordin. They'll fix you up," Shepard replied.  
"Hopefully," Aluna replied, a little doubtful. Garrus threw one of her arms over his neck and supported her waist. The door to her little hiding place slid open. Samara and Shepard quickly stepped out and signaled that the hallway was clear for the moment. All of a sudden, a loud explosion sounded down the left side of the hall.  
"Ah crap," Aluna muttered, "We better getting going, Commander." Garrus swung Aluna up into his arms so he didn't have to half drag her all the way back to the Normandy.  
The group immediately started running the other way as soon as an enraged shriek filled the air.  
"Yeah, he's pissed," Aluna said.  
"Can't blame him since we're crashing his little party," Garrus replied as they ran. A geyser of fire and metal suddenly issued out from one wall behind them. Aluna scrambled over the turian's shoulders and sent a strong wave of water to knock back the fire. The inferno hissed as its adversary countered its attacks. As they ran down the hallway, Aluna pulled up sheets of metal right behind them to slow Corilion down. She looked up and saw three horizontal pillars of water heading their way as they punched out six foot long holes in the walls. Aluna gestured quickly with her hands; her bands on her arms flared up slightly. The pillars froze and dropped to the ground. Aluna quickly unfroze one and wrapped it around her arms to serve as a temporary weapon.  
They made it out the building just as another geyser of fire and rock shot out. Shepard keyed her transmitter and ordered Joker to bring in the Normandy for a quick pick up. Aluna cast a sad look at the damage to the city as they waited behind cover for their ship.  
"I'll have to send in some credits to help repair the damage," she murmured as Garrus applied medi-gel to certain wounds that were bleeding profusely. Then the familiar hum of engines alerted the group of Joker's presence. He opened to bay doors and the shore party, along with their new team member, hurried on in. Just before the bay doors closed, Aluna glanced up in time to see Corilion step out from the building he had chased them from. Her blood ran cold.  
"Commander, we need to get the Normandy out of here now!" she said, fatigue and anxiety coloring her voice. Shepard looked out just as the doors closed but she saw Corilion.  
"Joker, get us the hell out of here. On double!" she ordered.  
"Aye aye, ma'am," the pilot replied. The Normandy quickly rose into the sky but Aluna could still feel Corilion's presence.  
"He's still near," Aluna announced.  
"We'll make sure he's not on board. Joker, have EDI sweep the ship for anything unusual," Shepard said.  
"On it." Suddenly, the heavy threat lifted from Aluna's mind. Relief and exhaustion swept through the litharian and she blacked out.

"Regen process is amazing! More effective than krogan," Mordin announced as he ran his omni tool over the litharian who lay unconscious in the medbay. Garrus sat not too far from her.  
"Will she be alright?" Shepard asked.  
"Oh, yes. Litharians are sturdy creatures. Very resilient and very hard to kill with conventional weapons. Can do a great deal of damage to each other if two were pitted against one another."  
"How do you know so much about them?" Garrus asked.  
"Believe I knew one a few years back in STG," Mordin replied. A soft snort caused Garrus to glance down at Aluna's once composed face. She opened her dark green eyes and smirked.  
"Let me guess... His name was Chek, wasn't it?" she asked.  
"Yes. Wasn't a very good salarian. Saw right through him," Mordin said, smiling at the memory.  
"He's was never a good actor. Did any of the other STG agents know?"  
"Doubt it. There were certain... characteristics I noticed that others most likely didn't. If they knew, none shared the information."  
"I'm guessing he gave up the act after you noticed he was something else?"  
"After a while, yes. A good few years before trust formed." Aluna nodded her head.  
"Never got chance to study litharian regen process up close before. One of the few things 'Chek' never talked about or showed me until he knew he could trust me not to talk," Mordin continued as he inspected one wound that was scarring up.  
"And I'm the exception?"  
"Had to. No intervention meant death. Elemental veins were severly damaged. Extensive internal bleeding. Organs tried to heal but there was too much damage done."  
"I... didn't know it was... that bad. I didn't feel much pain."  
"Shock most likely the cause. Adrenaline too."  
"Thanks."  
"No thanks necessary. Only doing my job." With one final wave of his omni tool and another layer of medi gel packed on, Mordin announced that the litharian needed to remain in the medbay for observation but she was well out of the danger zone. Mordin went back to his lab and Chakwas took over. Food was sent over to the litharian. She hadn't realized how hungry she was until the smell of an MRE wafted in. She quickly inhaled the meal, hardly tasting the food.  
Once the meal was finished, she laid back down and studied the ceiling. She knew Garrus had a lot on his mind. He'd start asking questions soon. She heard Garrus shift his position next to her, as if settling in for a long conversation.  
"Why did you leave?" the turian asked her. Aluna remained silent.  
"You could have gone back for them. Saved them," he continued. Silence still.  
"When I finally got there, you want to know who was still alive?" Her gaze met his.  
"Kyn." She closed her eyes.  
"Vakarian, before you berate me for not being there, let me remind you that we were ambushed, outnumbered and outgunned," she began, "I tried to get over to Tagarn and Kyn, who were both still alive, when this shit merc walked up behind them with a pistol drawn. They had no idea he was there. I ran as fast as I could..."  
"Why didn't you knock him back?"  
"Some dumbass had landed a shot the tore up my main elemental artery, so my powers were worth shit. I was this close to them-" she held her index finger and thumb parallel to each other, indicating the short distance she was away from her teammates "- when a rocket slams into me and throws me out the window where I landed hard on the ground. I was unconscious for awhile. When I came to, I was in piss poor condition, Garrus. I was in no shape to fight. And believe me, I wanted to go back up there and beat the living shit out of every single merc I saw there. But I couldn't."  
"So, you ran."  
"What else could I have done? I couldn't stay there!"  
"You could've waited for me," Garrus said quietly.  
Aluna opened her mouth for a moment and shut it. She hung her head in anger as she searched for an answer. She didn't like it.  
"I was... scared," she answered lamely.  
"Scared?" Garrus asked, surprised, "How could you be scared of a few mercs carrying guns? Weren't you more terrified when the Reapers appeared in your cycle?"  
Aluna looked at him. "I was a child. That time I was not getting riddled with bullets. Yes, I was scared. I... Gods. I don't know. You have no idea what it was like. You already know the story. The only thing that kept me from breaking down was my parents as we ran to the elevator that would take us to an underground bunker deep within the planet. The reapers wouldn't be able to reach us there. There were reports of them bombing planets from orbit but to risk leaving the planet in a ship was suicide."  
"And hiding in an underground bunker within the planet wasn't?"  
"I guess people weren't focused on that. My parents were on either side of me. My mother kept yelling that we shouldn't abandon the protheans and other species to the Harvest. That we should stay and fight. All I wanted to do was hide. Had a government official been nearby or overheard that, she would have been branded a traitor and left to die."  
Garrus stared at her. The litharian nodded.  
"The Unifinity was screwed up in the head. There were a lot of theories that settled on indoctrination but there was no proof since nearly all of the Unifinity board members died within the first few years of the attack. Pretty convenient for the reapers. The Unifinity has improved since then and more after our relays opened up." Aluna shook her head in disbelief at her own species' authority before continuing her tale.  
"As we ran to the bunker, one woman fell. She must have gotten shot with a high caliber round; there was this huge hole in the middle of her thigh. My mother stopped to help her up and told my father and me to keep running. That she'd catch up. Then, this deafening roar rolled over us. All litharians in the vicinity either kept running, screaming in terror, or threw up basic shields and offensive attacks to delay the reaper. I forget which class it was. It wasn't very big, smaller than Sovereign at least, but still large enough to cause untold amounts of damage. Its red laser lit up my mother and the wounded litharian she was trying to help. I remember someone screaming loud as they were... vaporized. Gone. Just like that. I don't know who screaming louder: me or my father. I remember running towards the spot where she was and my father scooping me up and holding me as tight as he could as he ran towards the bunker. Everyone else who had survived was already on the bunker. My father was running as fast he could with that... thing on his heels. That elevator was the last one to go and it had already began its descent into the planet. We barely made it on just as the reinforced blast door shut over the elevator hole."  
Her vision had begun to blur; the litharian dashed a hand over her eyes to wipe away the tears that were tempted to fall. Her fingers came away with wetness. She stared at the flattened tears and animated them. They darted over her hand like little animals.  
"This is what I did when we were hiding in the bunker. It was the only thing I thought to do while everyone waited for the reapers to destroy the planet. Whenever the tears came, I thought it a waste of water. That it should be put to use." Her hand stilled and the tears fell off.  
"Why are you telling me this?"  
Aluna looked up at him and a ghost of a smile played across her lips. "I don't know. Maybe just to tell you that that time I was only really scared for myself. Back at the base, where we were exchanging fire with the mercs, I was scared, not for me but for my team. I didn't want to lose them all. I didn't want to fail. I wanted to make a difference in this galaxy, to get away from the stereotype that all litharians are cowards who will run away from everything, even their own shadow. When I came to after being hit by rocket and thrown out the window, the was probably the closest I've ever felt like walking death. I think the next was after fighting with Corilion. That bastard knows how to fight." She laughed quietly to herself but looked up when she heard a snort of suppressed laughter from Garrus.  
"What's so funny?" she asked him.  
Garrus smothered his laughter as best he could to say, "Let's just say you aren't the only to get hit with a rocket." Her eyes widened.  
"What?!"  
"You didn't notice?" he asked and turned his head to the side. Aluna instantly reached out a hand to the bandage the covered the side and gave him a hard look.  
"Sorry. It wasn't my fault. Turians don't really know how to duck," he replied nonchalantly.  
"You could've improvised."  
"It was a gunship!"  
"A gunship!? Vakarian!"  
"Apparently all the major gangs on Omega wanted me dead enough that they sent out a gunship to take me down. Really, you should be impressed. All those gangs fighting together to take down one turian."  
Aluna flopped back into the bed and rolled her eyes.  
"You know, I could try to heal that for you," she said, gesturing towards the bandage.  
"Eh, it's fine. It'll scar. Any way, I heard that women find facial scars attractive. Mind you, most of those women are krogan."  
Aluna laughed aloud.


End file.
